What do you think?
Rate this book
Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)
The Beat Generation: A Beginner's Guide
Without them, the Hippies and the Punks would never have existed.
The Beat Generation were a radical group of American writers whose relaxed, gritty and candid writing inspired generations. In his chronicle of the origins, adventures, and inner workings of the Beat movement, Christopher Gair reveals how it sparked one of the most important revolutions in American literature, influencing everything from bebop to the Beastie Boys.
The Beat Generation were a radical group of American writers whose relaxed, gritty and candid writing inspired generations. In his chronicle of the origins, adventures, and inner workings of the Beat movement, Christopher Gair reveals how it sparked one of the most important revolutions in American literature, influencing everything from bebop to the Beastie Boys.
224 pages, Paperback
First published December 25, 2007
6 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 13, 2025
2.5⭐️Good insight on Kerouac and the influence on him and Ginsberg of some proto-Beats (the Transcendentalists, Rimbaud, etc.)
Ginsberg and Burroughs generally underrepresented, seemingly so Gair can make space for 'marginalised'/'erased' Beats - falling into an annoying trap of modern criticism, of assuming that in every period there were just as many female/minority writers producing work of the same merit as the white men, and that we forget them only because of their identity.
This is sometimes true but usually not true, because historical circumstances have generally made it easier for men to write and publish, and to pretend the work of these female Beats is deserving of serious study is condescending and done here at the expense of close readings of Kaddish, Junky, even Kerouac - whose novels are discussed at good length - would be disappointed to find no mention of his poetry in here, Gair instead dedicating a chapter to discussing the writings of Joyce Johnson, briefly Keroac's girlfriend in the early 40's.
I think overall I was hoping for a book on the Beats as a literary movement, and this was a sociological study of the Beat generation as a generation, beyond the 'Beat Canon'. But the Canon exists for a reason - nobody outside of it is of much interest. Sorry Carolyn Cassady.
Ginsberg and Burroughs generally underrepresented, seemingly so Gair can make space for 'marginalised'/'erased' Beats - falling into an annoying trap of modern criticism, of assuming that in every period there were just as many female/minority writers producing work of the same merit as the white men, and that we forget them only because of their identity.
This is sometimes true but usually not true, because historical circumstances have generally made it easier for men to write and publish, and to pretend the work of these female Beats is deserving of serious study is condescending and done here at the expense of close readings of Kaddish, Junky, even Kerouac - whose novels are discussed at good length - would be disappointed to find no mention of his poetry in here, Gair instead dedicating a chapter to discussing the writings of Joyce Johnson, briefly Keroac's girlfriend in the early 40's.
I think overall I was hoping for a book on the Beats as a literary movement, and this was a sociological study of the Beat generation as a generation, beyond the 'Beat Canon'. But the Canon exists for a reason - nobody outside of it is of much interest. Sorry Carolyn Cassady.
November 10, 2014
виявляється, оригінальний фінал "на дорозі" (той видрукуваний на суцільному сувої паперу) не вижив: його з'їв пес люсьєна карра.
у цій книжці багато таких невеликих цікавих деталей, які вдихають додаткове життя в історію бітників. перші дві частини – про контекст і початки руху – особливо добре вдалися.
у цій книжці багато таких невеликих цікавих деталей, які вдихають додаткове життя в історію бітників. перші дві частини – про контекст і початки руху – особливо добре вдалися.
March 25, 2014
Fantastic review of the Beat generation and the writers they influenced.
Loved the mentions and chapter devoted to the less-recognised female writers of the era, too.
For anyone interested in the cultural implications the Beat writers influenced- highly reccommended!
Loved the mentions and chapter devoted to the less-recognised female writers of the era, too.
For anyone interested in the cultural implications the Beat writers influenced- highly reccommended!
September 15, 2008
Pretty good intro on the Beats. Includes a history, influences, and some critical reviews of several Kerouac books. A quick read
March 15, 2012
Background essay reading, but actually really interesting! I'm surely a Beats expert now??
December 7, 2017
A great introduction to the Beats. Informative and interesting.
January 25, 2016
Well researched and crafted for a general public.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews